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German NGO Registers Third Office in China Despite Student’s Expulsion from the Country

The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD) registered its third office in China on November 9, according to Ministry of Public Security information, even though Chinese authorities forced a student studying under one of DAAD’s China programs to leave the country in August. As The China NGO Project has previously written, German citizen David Missal was studying at Tsinghua University through a DAAD scholarship program when Chinese Entry-Exit Administration officials told him his visa would not be renewed. Though never given a direct reason for the visa denial, it is likely because Missal was reporting on detained human rights lawyers.

DAAD told The China NGO Project in September that the case had not led to any repercussions with its Chinese partners and that it had not been in contact with its Professional Supervisory Unit or the Public Security Bureau regarding the case. DAAD’s newly-registered representative office, located in Shanghai, suggests that Chinese authorities are not holding it responsible for what it perceives as misconduct by Missal.

DAAD’s other two offices are located in Beijing and Guangzhou, and were registered in November 2017 and April 2018, respectively.

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